


Sugar and Buttercream

by babyblueglasses



Series: Simmer and Boil [6]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Birthday, Birthday Cake, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Party, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 11:46:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14789919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babyblueglasses/pseuds/babyblueglasses
Summary: Tony really, really wants Loki to bake him a cake for his birthday.





	Sugar and Buttercream

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is not for distribution or linkage outside of ao3.

Tony lifted himself up on his tip-toes, trying to peek past jars and cartons. He just knew there had to be icing or filling in the fridge. His birthday was only a couple days away, and Loki always made him a cake. Last year he’d made a miniature version of Tony’s favorite car. Tony’d hung out with him in the kitchen for the entire week it’d taken for Loki to make it. It had been fascinating to watch Loki meticulously craft every detail, even when Loki fussed at him about some arbitrary rule to follow in his pristine kitchen. 

The cold air of the fridge nibbled at Tony’s skin as he dug past jars, determined to find some sign that Loki had worked on his cake. There was nothing. 

The cat meowed behind him. Tony turned around to find Tricks staring up at him. “You know you’re not supposed to be in here,” Tony reminded her. He bent down and scooped her up. “Do you know if your other dad’s working on my cake?” She purred as he scratched beneath her chin. “Because it’s kind of one of my favorite parts of my birthday now.” 

The black cat simply blinked at him. Tony sighed. “Let’s get out of here before he gets home. I don’t want to hear about your hair being in the kitchen.” 

Tony cradled her as he walked into their living room and then set her on the cat walk he’d built for her. She ran up a ramp and then stopped at the feeding station where Loki had placed dry cat food that he’d made especially for her.

Tony slumped down on the couch and grabbed his Stark pad. 

 

Tony heard groceries setting on the table when Loki came home. He walked into the kitchen to help. “There’s not sugar in here, is there?” Tony asked, drawing one of the plastic bags open and pulling out a loaf of bread. 

“No, but that is for garlic bread,” Loki answered. He was in a good mood with a little skip in his step. “I brought home pasta from work.” 

“Awesome.” Tony said. “Did you get dessert? You know, chocolate buttercream is my favorite.” 

“I’m well aware,” Loki answered, brushing his hand along Tony’s back as he came up behind him. “There’s ice-cream in the freezer that we can have for dessert.” Loki grabbed a few jars of olives and started back towards the fridge. 

“Are Jane and Thor still on to host my birthday party?” 

“Of course,” Loki said, glass jars clinking as he rearranged the fridge. “They’re the ones that insisted on hosting.” 

Tony was dropping hints like crazy, but Loki didn’t seem to notice. He just answered contentedly. Tony slipped his hands in his pockets. Loki glanced back at him. “Would you slice the bread for me?” 

“Sure,” Tony said. 

Maybe Loki didn’t need several days to work on the cake. Maybe Tony was getting ahead of himself. 

 

Tony checked the fridge again the next day. He found a can of soda he’d forgotten about and some new sort of speciality jam that Loki had bought, but nothing for a cake. He hoped that Loki was making a cake. He was going to be sort of crushed if he wasn’t. 

That night Tony dropped more obvious hints about the cake. Loki only assured him that he knew what Tony’s favorite cake was, but he didn’t say anything about how he was making it. Tony didn’t want to ask directly. He knew that making a cake was a lot of work, and if Loki wanted to buy one instead of laboring over it for hours on end, that was perfectly fine. Logically. Tony still really wanted Loki to make it though. A store cake just wasn’t the same.

 

The day before his birthday, Tony was positive that Loki would spend the night up in the kitchen. But when he pulled Tony into their bed early, raking his nails through Tony’s hair and murmuring filthy words into his ear, Tony found himself thinking about the damn cake even as Loki freed him of his clothes. 

 

When Tony woke up on his birthday, the bed was empty. Tony sat up. It was early, and usually Loki slept in. Tony felt a grin spreading across his face. If he was up early, that meant he was baking. 

Tony ran down the stairs like a kid on Christmas morning. 

As he rounded the corner towards the kitchen, he saw Loki crouched on the living room floor. He was waving the cat’s feather wand back and forth for her to chase. “Hey Lo,” Tony said. 

“Happy Birthday, Tony,” Loki said with amusement. 

“Thanks.” Tony went straight for the kitchen, exited to breathe in the warm scent of chocolate and baking cake batter. 

But the kitchen was empty. Tony didn’t smell anything or see any signs, but he went to check the fridge. It was empty. 

Tony made a cup of coffee, trying to pretend that the sinking feeling in his chest wasn’t there. He definitely didn’t feel a prick of tears at his eyes from sheer disappointment. Nope. He was a grown ass adult. He didn’t get his heart set on silly things like that. Tony took a deep breath and walked back towards the living room. 

He sat down across from Loki, watching Tricks leap into the air to snatch the toy bird. Loki grinned at him. “We’ve got about an hour before we head over to Jane and Thor’s. Would you like any help in the shower?” There was a mischievous glint in his eyes, and Tony found that it was contagious. 

“I might.” He sipped his coffee. “It depends how good the help is.” 

“I suppose there’s only one way to know,” Loki said, allowing Tricks to catch and chomp on the bird. 

“I guess so,” Tony agreed. “After coffee.” 

“After coffee,” Loki echoed, drawing Tricks into his lap as she purred. 

 

When they pulled up outside of Jane and Thor’s house, the driveway and the street were packed with cars. Tony curled his arm around Loki’s waist as they walked to the front door. It flew open before they could reach for the bell. 

“Happy birthday!!” Jane exclaimed, a chorus of voices mirroring her. All of Tony’s friends were there, and the place was absolutely decked out in decorations. Clint started throwing confetti into the air. It snowed in Tony’s hair, but that wasn’t what took Tony’s breath away. 

He walked up to the cake in the middle of the room. It was three tiers, chocolate accented with red and gold, with _Happy Birthday Tony_ written in Loki’s script. Tony would’ve recognized his work anywhere. 

“You made my cake,” Tony said, Loki walking up beside him. 

“Of course I made your cake, Tony,” Loki said, sounding utterly amused. “Who else would be capable?” 

Tony wanted to make out with him right there. He was pretty sure Clint would ruin that, though. “But I didn’t see you make it.” 

“I made it at work,” Loki said, setting a hand on his hip. “I knew if I made it at home you’d sample it a dozen times and open the oven door at some point when it was baking like last year.” He raised an eyebrow. “You told me what kind of buttercream to use and the cake you wanted this year, remember?” 

Tony hadn’t realized that Loki had been listening. Loki had just assumed that Tony already knew. Tony was grinning like a loon as someone behind them asked if they wanted to start with the cake. “Yes,” Tony answered them. “Yes I do.” 

There was a smile in Loki’s eyes as he watched Tony, on the edge of a laugh. 

“Cake first!” Tony declared as the room erupted with noise and someone ran to grab candles. Like every year, this was going to be the best birthday yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday Tony!


End file.
